John Tortorella has never been known to mince words.
You may not always like his communication methods, but the man will tell it how it is – good or bad. And early on last season, the power play was, well, it wasn't good.
"It was as low as it possibly could be early in that year," Tortorella told reporters this week.
The most successful head coach in Blue Jackets history is heading into his fourth season at the helm of the club, and knows that consistency is absolutely vital when it comes to special teams play.
And consistency was surely not the name of the game last season.
For most of the year, the Blue Jackets were at the bottom of the NHL in power play statistical categories. Even with a late-season surge, the team still finished ranked fourth-worst in power play goals scored.
So, now what? Fans are typically more quick to give specific blame over lapses of production than players and coaches, but Tortorella is well aware of that.
"I think the coach is always going to be in the forefront as far as taking the criticism, it's part of our job. When things aren't working, it's where it goes to."
Tortorella believes he has a coaching staff that is accountable, and that if a specific coach thinks they've struggled in a certain area that they are responsible for influencing, they're accountable to it. But the "blame-game" shouldn't be the focus of the conversation.
"We can't be concerned...with pointing fingers, we're just trying to fix things."
Brad Larsen, assistant coach for the club who has been largely in charge of running the power play unit, was almost immediately the scapegoat in every fan conversation about the lack of consistency.
This wasn't something the club tried to ignore. Tortorella knows first-hand that Larsen took ownership where needed:
"He was dying on the vine when we were going through those problems. I really respect the way he handled himself and continued to try to stay calm and figure it out with them - and I think that's most important is they all figured it out together, players and coach."
"We can't be concerned...with pointing fingers, we're just trying to fix things."
The overall message of the Blue Jackets' head coach: The focus needs to be on improvement and healthy accountability. Calling for Larsen's head is certainly not in his plans.
The power play unit did improve over the course of the season, but the zero power play goals in four straight playoff losses will always be on the mind. When the puck drops in early October, it's clear that change and improvement will be necessary.
And If you're looking for some specific change ideas...we've got you covered.
